A superhydrophobic xerogel coating synthesized from a mixture of nanostructured fluorinated silica colloids, fluoroalkoxysilane, and a backbone silane is reported. The resulting fluorinated surface was characterized using contact angle goniometry, SEM, and AFM. Quantitative bacterial adhesion studies performed using a parallel plate flow cell demonstrated that the adhesion of Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were reduced by 2.08 ± 0.25 and 1.76 ± 0.12 log over controls, respectively. This simple superhydrophobic coating synthesis may be applied to any surface regardless of geometry and does not require harsh synthesis or processing conditions, making it an ideal candidate as a biopassivation strategy.

Summary The important biological roles of nitric oxide (NO) have prompted the development of analytical techniques capable of sensitive and selective detection of NO. Electrochemical sensing, more than any other NO-detection method, embodies the parameters necessary for quantifying NO in challenging physiological environments such as blood and the brain. Herein, we provide a broad overview of the field of electrochemical NO sensors, including design, fabrication, and analytical performance characteristics. Both electrochemical sensors and biological applications are detailed.

While much research has been directed to harnessing the antimicrobial properties of exogenous NO, the possibility of bacteria developing resistance to such therapy has not been thoroughly studied. Herein, we evaluate potential NO resistance using spontaneous and serial passage mutagenesis assays. Specifically, Staphylococcus aureus, Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), Staphylococcus epidermidis, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were systematically exposed to NO-releasing 75mol% MPTMS-TEOS nitrosothiol particles at or below minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) levels. In the spontaneous mutagenesis assay, bacteria that survived exposure to lethal concentrations of NO showed no increase in MIC. Similarly, no increase in MIC was observed in the serial passage mutagenesis assay after exposure of these species to sub-inhibitory concentrations of NO through 20 d.

An amperometric fluorinated xerogel-derived nitric oxide (NO) microelectrode is described. A range of fluorine-modified xerogel polymers were synthesized via the co-hydrolysis and condensation of alkylalkoxy- and fluoroalkoxysilanes. Such polymers were evaluated as NO sensor membranes to identify the optimum composition for maximizing NO permeability while providing sufficient selectivity for NO in the presence of common interfering species. By taking advantage of both the versatility of sol–gel chemistry and the “poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE)-like” high NO permselective properties of the xerogels, the performance of the fluorinated xerogel-derived sensors was excellent, surpassing all miniaturized NO sensors reported to date. In contrast to previous electrochemical NO sensor designs, xerogel-based NO microsensors were fabricated using a simple, reliable dip-coating procedure. An optimal permselective membrane was achieved by synthesizing xerogels of methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMOS) and 20% (heptadecafluoro-1,1,2,2-tetrahydrodecyl)trimethoxysilane (17FTMS, balance MTMOS) under acid-catalyzed conditions. The resulting NO microelectrode had a conical tip of ~20 μm in diameter and ~55 mm in length, and exhibited sensitivities of 7.91 pA·nM−1 from 0.2 to 3.0 nM (R2 = 0.9947) and 7.60 nA·mM−1 from 0.5 to 4.0 μM (R2 = 0.9999), detection limit of 83 pM (S/N = 3), response time (t95%) of <3 sec, and selectivity (logKNO,jamp) of −5.74, <−6, <−6, <−6, <−6, −5.84, and −1.33 for j = nitrite, ascorbic acid, uric acid, acetaminophen, dopamine, ammonia/ammonium, and carbon monoxide. In addition, the sensor proved functional up to 20 d, maintaining ≥90% of the sensor's initial sensitivity without serious deterioration in selectivity.

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